kirkham



Filed March 26 1917 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 mvemfoz CHA rauzsfi KiQKHAM- Aug. 28, 1923:

C. B. KIRKHAM AERONAUT I CAL MOTOR Filed March 26 1917 4 SheetsSheet 4 arwen roz CHARLES BKHZKHAM.

Snowmaill Patented Aug. 28, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES TB. KIEKI-IAM'. O1 BUFFALO. NEW YORK, ASSIC-NOP. TO CUETISS AEROPLANE AND B'IOTOR CORPORATION. A CORPORATION OF NEXV YORK.

AERONAUTICAL MOTOR.

Application filed March 26, 1917.

Y 0 (1] Z who-m it may concern.

Be it known that l, (lrmnnns B. Knur- H; at, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county o't' lilrie and State OTEYNQW York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Aeronautical lilotors. of which the following is a specilication.

My invention relates to internal combustion engines of the multicylindelr :lour-cycle type and "tore particularly to that class of engines which are adapted to and may be utilized for aeronautical work. It is the purpose or" my invention to provide an internal combustion engine or such char acteristics that it will be of comparatively light weight per useiul horse power and of such simplicity of design that its utility and general operation will not be subject to complications arising from mmecessary intricacies of mechanical detail. Furthermore, my invention provides a means for operating said motor at maximum elliciency over a wide range of motor speeds and positions oi? throttle by reason of the novel dual arrangement of the intake niani- 'lolds relative to the valves or ports of the cylinders and their connections with the carburetors supplying the gaseous mixture.

his is accomplished by means of an engine in which is provided a set o'l four -valves for each cylinder, two of the valves serving as intake valves and two serving as exhaust valves. The aforementioned intake valves are supplied by separate manifolds leading from a common means of carburation. The flow of gas from the carburetor is controlled by means of a throttling device which is conveniently interposed between the carburetor outlet and the intake valves of the motor. This throttling device which will hereinafter be more completely described is of such nature that it regulates the flow of gas to a degree of nicety unobtainable with any previously conceived arrangement of intake valves and manifolds. Moreover, my invention so incorporates the intake and exhaust manifolds in the general structure of the cylinders that the manifolds are surrounded at all times by the circulatory cooling agent which carries oil the excess heat from the cylinder walls. This affords adequate and elficient means for maintaining the incoming gases at such a temperature that there is caused no (10- Serial No. 157,451.

crease in efficiency due to vapor condensation in the manifolds. Hence is obtained an even flow of combustible gaseous vapor at all times, the amount of said flow being effectually controlled by means of the throttling device which is provided to operate in conjunction with the dual carburetor later more specifically referred to.

A still further and distinctly advantage ous feature 01" my invention is that it provides a meansfor operating the dual intake and exhaust valves by means of a single cam shaft for each bank of cylinders, the cam shafts and valve.mechanisms being so disposed in a containing case that they operate in a circulating bath of oil 'or other lubricating agent. l*lll'tl1Glll'lO1', the structure of the gas engine is such that the cylinder jackets cast in blocks of two contain as an integral part thereof the supports for the cam shatt bearings, the poo in a multicylinder V-type engine of eight cylinders is shown are appended. However, my invention of such nature that it is not limited to any particular number of cylinders but is adaptable to use as any multicylinder engine.

Fig. 'l is an end elevation oi? the motor;

Fig. 2- is a side elevation of one cylinder bank, a part thereof being shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a cylinder section taken transvers'ely to illustrate the exhaust valve arrangement Fig. 4 is a sectional view similarly taken. to illustrate the disposition of the intake manifolds Fig. is a plan view of a cylinder block showing the location of the valves;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section showing a pair of cylinder intake n'ianifolds;

' Fig. 7 is a diagrannnatic illustration of the fuel feed system in part.

In Fig. 3 the hollow cam shaft 20 is shown Bil supportedv by cam shaft bearings 21 held to the body of the cylinder casting Wholly designated as 22 by means or studs 23. .-1is

cam shaft 21) carries a series 01' cams 2i and 1&3, (two cams per cylinder) which serve to operate the intake and the exhaust valves. 'lhe two exhaust valves 26 have their inteally constructed stems 27 operating longitiulinally within bushings 28 which are of some suitable bearing material and are inserted .vithin the holes provided in the inain cylinder castingili. These valve stems 27 carry at their upper extremity the pressed steel caps 29 which engage the valve springs and absorb the thrust there'troin, thus suiting to hold the valves 26 secured against the valve seats 31..

immediately between the two valve stem guides is a sleeve 32 which servesto carry and support the T-shaped tappet rod 33. This T-headed tappet rod 33 servcs'as an. intermediary mechanism transmitting action of the cam 24 simultaneously to the valves 26. Studs 3% carried within the upper porton of the main cylinder casting are provided for the purpose of attaching the exhaust manifolds.

The construction of the cylinders is in it a distinct departure from the usual practice. The outer shell o'lthe cylinder to- ,zieiher with the exhaust manifolds, the intake manilolds and the valve retaining mechanism is'cast in one piece preferably of aluminum. \Vithin the bore oit'this casting,

the entire longitudinal" extent havii r been threaded, a. steel cylinder lining tie is my sci-ted. This steel cylinder lining carries as an nteg'g'ral part thereof a steel head porthan 36 which serves to function as the valve seats for the poppet va ves a nd the cylinder wall portion 35. In order that the blocks and cylinders may be attached readily to the crank case of the motor, the steel cylinder wall portions are extended to a point soinciviat below the outer casing QZand have integrally formed thereon flanges A l the flanges p-l being adapted to receive bolts or studs carried by the crank case proper. Thisconstruction provide a cylinder oi eat lightness but possessing ample strength since the steel cylinder luiai l'lining 36 is in contact with the case aluminum web hing): 37. 38 at all points of upper surface. The water jacket spaces ill) completely-surround thecvlimlers 3 and altord passage the circulatory cooling agent.

9 and "l the integrally i-ast dual iiiani'tolils 40 are shown. 'l hese ids are arran ed'to lead up between pai of c linders where they are hrauehei V itudinallv oil the inotorin order to supply the cylinders, one main oiiinan 'olds thus 'tunctioning to sup two cylinders. l 2 the intake vet valves to which these manifolds lead pa rt of the shatt casing or housing i It will also be noticed that the dual intake manifolds at) are completely surrounded by the circulatory cooling agent whereby any condensation of the combustible vapor is prevented since the nianifoldis maintained at an even and uniform temperature at all times by reason oi its contact 'With the cooling; \Vdl'BIX. Thus it is seen that the gas enters the cylinders through the valves l-lwith the unitorin {low of an even temperature which highly conducive to the most eliicicnt motor operation. The operation of the intake valves i l by means oi the cam shaft 20 and the cam 25 is the same in every detail as thatot the e haust valves 26above described. The eain .fhatt 20 is driven by means oil the bevel ear to Which meshes with a scond bevel are des nated as.

O 2:) gear 4:6 earned at the upper extremity of the radial divergent shaft 4:7. The shaft l7 s driven directly from the crank shaft lS iy means of the bevel gears and 50 and supported by means of the bearings 51. and The bearing 51 is east as an integral 7 53 shown in Fig. 2. The bearing is formed as an integral part of the crank case wholly designated At a point intermediate the up- ..limi pa per and lower extremities of the shaft $7 a bevel gear Set is placed. This gear 5st adapted to engage directly with a gear 57 'which is directly attached. to theshatt of the magneto 56 as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

The two magnetos 56 are located Within the V formed. between the banks of cylinders and are carried upon supporting brackets 57 which are attached to the crank case in any suitable manner. The inlet orifices which serveto admit the flow of cooling ter are. designated as 53%) in Figs. 2 and 5 are similarly the outlet orifices are desig nated as 30. Connection. to the intake uranil olds L0 is established by means of asuitill) constitute the requisite number per hm a are securely istened together by means of the lian iies G l which are connected by me: ru ot suitable bolts or studs. Fig. (3 at horizontal section through a cylinder jacket unit in. which the disposition 'ot the dual int-alto ma n old relative to the cylinders is shown. The diametrically opposite threailml open ingrs (35 are tor the purpose of receiving-the i nitiou blocks. two per cylinder. and are Wsposed laterally with regard to the general iii struisture ot' the motor. The holes 66 which are formed in the top of the main cylinder casting are provided for the purpose of receiving bolts which hold the. upper portion 67 of the valve mechanism housin; in position as shown in. Fig. l. The location of the cam shaft bearing; bases 68 and 69 is clearly slmwn in l 'i 5. these bases being: preterably cast as an integral part oi. the main- .cyl indcr Casting.

hell-wring to Fig. 1, the general arranget of the various component parts may be clearly seen. The coolin; water circulating pump 70 is disposed in a suitable manner at one end of the crank case wholly desi 'znated as 4-3 and is driven directly from the c -ank shaft 48 by means ot a near 7.1 (Fig. 2) which is carried by the crank shaft and engages a gear '73 (Fig. 1) disposed upon the shaft of the pump 70. From the circidating pump T0 the water pipin; 76 leads to the watcrinlet orifices 59. Carried at either side oi the engine bcd supports 76 and disposed at a point approximately on a line-with the crank shaft ot the motor are the two duplex carburetors T7. The air intake for these carburetors TS leads preferably from. an air heater 79 which is '(llSpOSGCl about the exhaust conduits T5. The

ca buretcd gas is taken trom the carburetor outlet to the mouth of the intake manifold a l by means oi suitable conduits 80 which connect by suitable bolts or studs to the integrally tormcd connecting plate 61 as pointed out in Fig. 2.

The operation oi thcscduplex carlnirctors and lllle 'lllll'o ltllligif .rrangementi'ntcrposwl between the carburetors and the manifolds oi the motor cylinders is such that the distribution of gas may be controlled to so accurate a degree that maximum ellicicncy may be btained from the motor throiul hout a wide range of motor speeds by :ulmitting gas. for instance at halt load through only one oi? the intake manifolds whereby the carburetor supplying this manifold operates at maximum clliciency and the manifold conducts and distributes the gas at the best possible advantage. In case ot full speed oyniration it is obvious that both carburetors and both of the dual intake manifolds will be operating: at capacity. This system (it gas supply is illustrated diagrammatically in. Fig. T wherein a single duplex carburotor is shown coupled up with the separate condnitswhich feed the. cylinders in pairs, Said carburetor is designated as 81 and may be replaced by separate carlniretors interconnected. hloreovcn the valves 92 indicated by dotted lines are movable under the condition set forth in a copending application. Serial No. 151512. filed February 28. 1917, since the movement thus outlined is successive and especially desirable in that with means-tor regulatio the SHD lV ot fuel by opening, or closing; said conduits successively.

Although I have described a preferred cmbodimi... of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to any particular materials or construction which might be used to accomplish the same end.v

in, interpretation of my invention should only be made in the light of the subjoiucd claims.

What is claimed is:

.1. ln an internal coi'nbustion engine; a plural member of cylinders arranged in bank and having, a water jacket, each cylinder having an exhaust port and a plural number of intake ports for exhausting spent and admitting tuel respectively thcre'l rom and thereto. and separate fuel" supply conduits arranged between cylinders, said conduits having: substantial portions parallelly arranged with reference to said cylinders and wholly contained within and passing;- thru said water jacket tor supplying fuel gas to the corresponding); intake ports ol the cylinders between which said conduits are arranged.

2. ln an internal combustion engine, the combination ot a cylinder having an e);- haust port and two or more intake ports tin-mod therein for exhausting spent gas and admitting 'l'ucl pgas respectively therefrom and thereto, means jackctin; said cylinder. a pair of carburetors and separate tuel supply conduits for said intake ports jacketed on'nnonly with said cylinder and leading;

to said carburetors. said supply conduits haying substantial portions which are parallclly arranged with reference to said cylinders and are wholly contained within the jackets.

In an internal combustion engine, the combination of a plural number of cylinders each having a plural number of intake ports and an exhaust port formed therein to admit fuel gas and exhaust spent gas respectively thereto and therefrom, means commonly jacket-inn said cylinders. a pair of carburctcrs and separate fuel supply conduits for the corresponding intake ports of adjacent cylinders commonly jacketed therewith. and leading to said carburetors. said conduits having substantial portions which are parcommon intake manitold extended vertically tiierehetweeu throughout the major portion length oi, the ylinder blocks a cylcompletely enclosing that i ui' old between ad- V V to stoning the 'ndeii' blocks together, dreams for supthe intake with fuel.

0. in an internal combustion engine a ink oil c ,linders coiiiprisii Q a plurality bl cks each block coinpi" up; two cylinders 'iormed into a unitary structure and barring a pair at coir nion. intal'ces disposed therebetween, means for bridging and fastening: said blocks together to 01331 a bank and means for regulating and admit iuei to said cylinders thru said. common takes.

if. in an internal minbustion engine, a cylinder casting comprising a pair ot adjaintegrally"formed jacki-it casings and intake manifold disposed Within, the chain her said l i accnt oi" the t nder water incl formed between jackets and parali-elly arranged err-ante thereto. said inaniiioid being formed in one piece with said. casings and having;

branches leading thru adjacent jackets.

.111 an internal. coieliii tron engine, a

unitary cylinder casting comprising a pair of adjacent. internallythreaded jacket casings, said acket cas rigs being enclosed. by

an outer casing and an integrally formed intake manifold-having substantial portions extending upwardly thru said chamber provided between said threaded casings and holly contained Within said chau'iber.

8. 111 an internal combustion engine, a cylinder casting comprising a pair or adjacent acket casings, said casings being iuternail threaded an outer casing enclosing ie lon ritndinal sides of said castinemand a pair of ntake manifolds extendingnp- Adi and disposed within the chamber iioruied heti'veen said adjacent casings said outer casing having a securing! flange Formed on the ends thereof for attachment to a cios inn plate.

9. In an internal combustion engine, a bank of cylinders comprising two or more blocks, each block comprising two cylinders formed into a single piece, each block having means for attachment to the adjacent block and to an end closing; plate and an end closing plate and gear housing attachable to one end. of said bank.

30. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder block comprising a pair of adjacently disposed cylinders, each 0'1 said cylinders having 'a pair of intake valves diseso thin-ch said cylinders also having dispz ,f therebetween a pair of intake mani-' folds leading upwardly to said intake valves and each of said manifolds being T shaped at its upper end andv having its branches load to intake valves in the adjacent vylili ders.

in testimony whereof l hcrei'mto affix my si gnature. 

